
The Death of Prehistory
Oxford University Press
Published on 28. November 2013
Book
Hardback
392 pages
978-0-19-968459-5 (ISBN)
Description
Since the eighteenth century, the concept of prehistory was exported by colonialism to far parts of the globe and applied to populations lacking written records. Prehistory in these settings came to represent primitive people still living in a state without civilization and its foremost index, literacy. Yet, many societies outside the Western world had developed complex methods of history making and documentation, including epic poetry and the use of physical and mental mnemonic devices. Even so, the deeply engrained concept of prehistory--deeply entrenched in European minds up to the beginning of the twenty-first century--continues to deny history and historical identify to peoples throughout the world.
The fourteen essays, by notable archaeologists of the Americas, Africa, Europe, and Asia, provide authoritative examples of how the concept of prehistory has diminished histories of other cultures outside the West and how archaeologists can reclaim more inclusive histories set within the idiom of deep histories--accepting ancient pre-literate histories as an integral part of the flow of human history.
The fourteen essays, by notable archaeologists of the Americas, Africa, Europe, and Asia, provide authoritative examples of how the concept of prehistory has diminished histories of other cultures outside the West and how archaeologists can reclaim more inclusive histories set within the idiom of deep histories--accepting ancient pre-literate histories as an integral part of the flow of human history.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
30 in-text illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 222 mm
Width: 145 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
683 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-968459-5 (9780199684595)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Peter R. Schmidt | Stephen A. Mrozowski
The Death of Prehistory
E-Book
11/2013
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€56.99
Available for download
Persons
Peter Schmidt is Professor of Anthropology and African Studies at the University of Florida. He has engaged historical archaeology and the archaeology of ancient times in Africa for the last 45 years and his interests range across many theoretical issues and fields of practice, including ethnoarchaeology, symbolic studies, the social construction of technology, and historical representation.
Stephen Mrozowski is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Massachusetts Boston where he also serves as Director of the Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research. He has carried out archaeological and ethnographic fieldwork in Eastern North America, Alaska, Northern Britain, Iceland and Barbados
Stephen Mrozowski is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Massachusetts Boston where he also serves as Director of the Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research. He has carried out archaeological and ethnographic fieldwork in Eastern North America, Alaska, Northern Britain, Iceland and Barbados
Editor
Professor of Anthropology and African Studies, University of Florida
Director, Fiske Center for Archaeological Research, Department of Anthropology, University of Massachusetts, Boston
Content
PREFACE; LIST OF FIGURES; NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS; PART I: HISTORIES OF PREHISTORY; PART II: PERSPECTIVES ARISING OUT OF AFRICA AND INDIA; PART III: PERSPECTIVE ARISING OUT OF THE AMERICAS; APPENDIX: SWAHILI CHRONICLES; BIBLIOGRAPHY; INDEX